striving for happiness...

happy new years and bon voyage girls and guys!! i will see you all in a week! miss ya...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE BABY!! I SURE HOPE SANTA TREATS YOU RIGHT!! LOL...HAVE A GREAT ONE GUYS!

For those of you still at work today, hope you're able to find stuff to do to fill your day. I don't know how I'm going to last if we're here til 4:30pm! So in honour of those of us trucking away in the office today (excluding Sal who gets to eat and drink and exchange presents!) I'm finding some holiday-themes goodies to try and help us pass the time...

This is a longer Christmas quiz, but you need to write your answers down on a piece of paper!

A quiz about Christmas in movies!

Answer questions about Christmas carols!!

Name the mixed up christmas carols!

This one's for Sal - a quiz dedicated to 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'

One for Mr. Robertson!!

Another one on Christmas music - it's a bit tougher!

So I think that should tide you over for a bit - just got an email saying we can go home early! Yesssss.....early afternoon can mean 10:30am, hey? Kidding...I don't know when I'm going to be posting during the holidays, so if I don't see you, have a wonderful Christmas - relax a bit, play a bit, but be safe a bit!

Merry Christmas everyone!
~casey

p.s. one more: Yeti sports - my favourite is the Penguin smack!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MOMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY........
HAPPY BIRTHEDAY TO YOU. (insert long harmonious melodies here!)

Hope you have a fantastic day with the girls today - see you tonight!

~casey

i wanna hippo for christmas! (needs volume)

Christmas has been so exhausting for me this year - as much as I enjoyed doing Operation Red Nose, it certainly knocked my internal clock/sense of energy off its kilter. I really can't believe how tired I've been! But only two and a half more days of work and I'm done for over a week. I'm so excited to read and read and read. Work's going alright - a previous minister of community development is coming by the archives tomorrow to open a time capsule from 1955. can you sense my excitement through the computer screen? I mean, we're talking postcards, posters, stuff to do with square dancing AND Indians (their words, not mine!) And I even get to take photos of the event! Seriously, my life is awesome.

So I hope everyone is ready and waiting for Christmas now...I've got one more stop to make at lunch today (Sal, don't even ask!) and then I think I'm officially done! Tonight I'm at Save-On and I'm absolutely, completely dreading it. You would not believe how many fruit baskets are made before Christmas! the department was so filled with boxes of crackers, cookies, and fruit there was a foot of walking space. That is, if you could even walk without your shoes sticking to the ground because of all of the grapes that were squished and now sticky. It was so gross...can't wait!

Have a good christmasy wednesday - listen to lots of Christmas music, and eat lots of sweets and baking. I'm not kidding when I say I've probably gained 10 pounds in the past week or so. Christmas is bad for me so far....talk to you soon,

~casey

oh dear! well i have been in the house for a solid 3 days! that is right, i have yet to step outside! i am cooped up in here studying for my final exam in physio!! fun fun fun...but it will be all over tonite!

i really have nothing to say. i study and watch popular, my new fav show, at nite. "ms. glass, sir"..."she smells like teen spirit"...it seriously cracks me up!! lol

my family decorated cookies on monday. that was actually quite amusing as nobody was going to help my mom in the decorating. so, being the preschool teacher that she is, quotes the little red hen. lol it was so funny! "not i said the duck, not i said the cat, not i said the dog" then the little red hen needs no help when eating! my dad and brother then helped...i know i am the dog that didn't help...but i was studying! :)

that is pretty much it guys! have a good wednesday! see you all tomorrow!

wow...can you believe it's only 6 and a half days left until the big day? I have the majority of my shopping done now - just some small gifts left, thank goodness! Drove past Kingsway saturday afternoon and could not believe my eyes! Cars were literally lined up for blocks waiting to get into the parking lot! I'm going to try my luck tonight after work when it will hopefully be a little quieter. hope everyone had a good weekend...Christine, I've got the receipt for the game so we'll have to get together this week.

hope your monday is going alright...I'm toying with the idea of taking a nap in my mom's van sometime this afternoon...

have a good one...
casey

well i really have nothing to say but i do feel sorry for whoever gets my secret santa gift. i believe it is the ugliest wrapped present alive! lol but it is nice inside, i swear!! obviously i just finished wrapping presents...so much fun! i love it! and now for........
.....christmas question part trois!!!

what is your favourite christmas movie(s) to watch?

~mine is a muppet family christmas, as not only are the seasame street gang united with the muppets but the fraggles too!! ooo but i also love it's a wonderful life and miracle on 34th st (old school).......and i like little women, because it is about family! :)

see ya tonite!

I sent off the link to the snowflake website to a guy from work and he called it a 'time-sucking vortex!' I can relate - I spent so much time on it yesterday!

Man, J9 you are so demanding!

I'm sorry I haven't posted - I'm just so damn tired. Operation Red Nose is knocking me for a loop and I can't keep up with my lack of sleep. Now for some reason, my brain is not responding to my alarm clock and I've slept in every day this week! Very frustrating...and I haven't been to the gym for weeks which has made me even more sleepy! But waking up this morning to snow on the ground made me feel a little bit better...I was even humming Christmas carols as I was walking out the door! I've also almost finished all of my christmas baking - just a few more experiments.

What is everyone else up to? I'm at save-on tonight so that means I'll be able to catch up on my personal calls...I love part-time jobs.

But that's it for now...my boss just caught me on his computer so I've got to go.
Promise I'll write tomorrow.

~casey

well today is a milestone for casey! this is the officially the 180th post. too bad i really have nothing to say! i will ask a christmas question though! what is your favourite christmas tradition that you have with family/friends/or others?

so i am in the middle of the crazy exam season...this morning i took my first one. it went blah...but i encountered something that has never happened to me before. a girl was caught cheating. the girl was about 5 seats away from me and the prof said "if you are going to make it that obvious, i am going to take your paper away" and then the prof looked at her name and i don't know what after that. the crazy thing is i sat beside that girl in lecture once and everytime i wrote down something i saw her eyes wander towards my paper and then write what i wrote. it drove me crazy so i avoided sitting beside her after that. i don't understand why you would cheat...obvious out of desparation but in university!! it is crazy serious as you can be expelled and it goes on your academic record then everytime you apply to a school they will see what you did and most likely not accept you. SCARY!!! when you think of it, drunk drivers get away with more than cheaters.

and on jeaninne's bus gripe note i have my own. i don't mind taking the bus, i know it is a rarity. in general the sherwood park bus crew are pretty nice. one guy, ken, even knows my stop on the dial-a-bus route b/c i am a regular mon-tues-wed nite taker. what bothers me soo much, like jeaninne, is the complainers. i was taking a local bus last week that fills about 30 people. it was stacked full. i got on and a lady, who reserved a seat for her dear purse, kind of looked disgruntled when i asked to sit there. PEOPLE, seats are for human beings, not shopping bags, bookbags, or your feet!! anyways as we puttered around town, and me being the last stop, i didn't know the bus etiquette. meaning more and more seats became empty but i was unsure if it was rude to move away and get my own seat, so i stayed where i was. the lady then proceded to tell me that she needed to get off, but it wasn't for another 5 stops but apparently i must smell :). she then complained to the bus driver about the smallness of the bus!! for goodness sake, not one person was standing, everyone had a bloody seat and furthermore if it is that horrible, drive!! and if you can't afford to drive, or choose not to, then humble yourself! i am done on that one!

and finally the oh my of subject....if you think you have problems...i was overhearing this girl in my nite class about how she must go on this school trip even though she cannot afford it. her reason is that a girl is going that is after her boyfriend, and if the girlfriend isn't there, this girl will slip ruphees in his drink and rape him! wow!

well that is it for now....see you all on friday! talk to you later!

Ok...this site is very cool. If you're bored and have a few minutes, you can make your own snowflake! It is soooo cool! And you can look at ones other people have made. I love it!

Check out the site here!

What is your favourite Christmas/holiday song? The one that really gets you in the mood?

Mine is O Holy Night by (almost) anybody, and All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.

~casey

Woke up 10 minutes before I had to leave for work today so that means: no shower. That means, Casey feels like she's still asleep...it's a pretty crappy feeling!

I'm trying REALLY hard to get in the Christmas mood lately, but I find it difficult when there's no snow on the ground and it's so warm outside! But I'm doing lots of holiday baking and listening to lots of Christmas music. We had Sal's christmas party on saturday night, and Tracey, I just want to apologize again to you for calling while being so inebriated. I also want to thank you for having the cell phone so I can call you so late; Jeaninne, you're next!!! I've decided that I need to have more self-control while drinking, and just because the alcohol is free doesn't mean I should try and shove as much as I can down my throat! It just leads to vomiting in somebody's bushes (now I know what that feels like, Christine!)

So to get more into the mood, tonight I'm going to sit in front of my tree, maybe wrap some presents, and bake some more cookies. I'm sure that will do it. Maybe make a christmas cd to listen to as well. Hope you're more in the mood than me...
happy monday!
~casey

Got these in my email this morning, and wanted to share them (even though most of you got them too!)- pretty darn hilarious! I mean, it's not like we've never heard them before! I have to admit, I did laugh out loud when I read them.

TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN ALBERTA
1. Big Rock between you and B.C.
2. Ottawa who?
3. Tax is 7 per cent instead of approximately 200 per cent for the rest of the country.
4. Flames vs. Oilers.
5. Stamps vs. Eskies.
6. You can exploit almost any natural resource you can think of.
7. You live in the only province that could actually afford to be its own country.
8. The Americans below you are all in anti-government militia groups.

And for Tracey and the Robertsons:
TOP REASONS TO LIVE IN NEW BRUNSWICK
1. One way or another, the government gets 98 per cent of your income.
2. You're poor, but not as poor as the Newfies.
3. When listing the provinces, everyone forgets to mention yours.
4. The economy is based on fish, cows, and ferrying Ontario motorists to Boston.
5. No one ever blames anything on New Brunswick.
6. Everybody has a Grandfather who runs a lighthouse
7. Just as charming as Maine, but with more unemployed fishermen
8. You probably live in a small seaside cottage with no television.

I wish you had a lighthouse...

Have a great weekend!
~casey

Girls...

Found this website a while ago - I could spend soooo much money on it. Very very cute stuff.
Check it out here at fredflare.com

I LOVE the internet!

hey everyone...sorry it's been so long, but thanks to Tracey for keeping it up! I tricked that Tom Riddle thing and got it back to starting with hello. I'm so sneaky!
As much as I like December and Christmas (I know, you're thinking 'here it comes!' she's sick of it already!), it's a really stressful time of year. It's hard finding any time to relax and maybe just watch a movie at night. I mean, with christmas parties, outdoor adventures (Candy Cane lane, lights at the Leg. grounds), and shopping, it can really get to you. I've got something planned almost every night until Christmas. But don't get me wrong; most of the plans include eating, drinking, seeing friends, so really it's not all that bad after all. I can't wait until Christmas day when I'll finally be able to give out the gifts I've stressed over buying, and then lay on the couch and sleep in between french toast at breakfast and the huge dinner at night. I predict I'll be in bed by 9pm!

So onto my biggest pet peeve of the winter season so far: frickin' Edmonton drivers. I won't dwell as I'm sure you all feel the same, but I shake my head at all of those assholes that still cut me off, swerve in and out of traffic, don't pay attention and have to stop right away, and that take off from being stopped so fast that their back end practically side-swipes me. So frustrating. And just because you've got four-wheel drive doesn't mean you're invincible and can stop as soon as you think you can.

ok...I think I'm done...

So hopefully everyone's alright...Tracey now you only have final exams to worry about! Yayy! And Christine, you've only got your ENTIRE family coming to worry about. Me? I've just got the damn poinsettias at save-on to worry about. I'm so sick of Christmas plants and flowers already. It's going to be a long month....

have a good one,
casey

be wary but have fun!

i knew about this, but didn't understand the details of it until i learned it in class today. it is the 16th anniversary of the montreal massacre. quite sad...
if you want to read about it click here.

omigoodness, omigoodness! it is amazing how cold it can get so fast...i passed by salisbury high school on my way to school and they had it at -16C...crazy and that is when it wasn't windy! it looks like it is going to get warm fast though because i heard it was suppose to be 1C on thursday! brrrrrrrrrrrr....but i must admit...it feels christmas-y! sooo many people have their christmas lights up...and i passed the leg. grounds and it looks beautiful....i love it!

so...because everyone was talking about christmas shopping i freaked out about how little i have done but, as of yesterday, i am, alas, done! there is a few small things to get, but i am finito. although at the expense of my test that was tonight...i guess shopping and watching annie put me over the edge...but, when it comes to annie, i can't help it. i always wanted to be that orphan! i do think i did fine all the same. even if i got 17% on the exam i still go into the final with a B...and i know i did better than that.

thanks everyone for the bday wishes. it was a nice and laidback weekend. i had fun calling case on sat. nite as she drove aimlessly around the city...actually she did have an aim! i will let her tell the adventures she had though!

well i better go...my bus will be coming soon...dress warm and wear cute mitts!

Reasons why I love December in Alberta:

~there's usually enough snow on the ground and chill in the air to really make it feel wintery and Christmas-y
~December is always cold enough that you HAVE to wear those cute mitts and the scarf you bought on sale last year!
~the lights put up at the Legislature buildings make it so nice to walk around outside
~Candy Cane lane comes out in full force, and gives us an excuse to walk around in the blistering cold (when we normally wouldn't), drink hot chocolate and baileys (which we love!), and also gives you an excuse to wear your comfy snow pants outside of the ski hill!
~when December 1st comes around, you can almost guarantee half of the houses out there have turned on their christmas lights and put their trees up!
~I celebrate two important birthdays in December (Mom and Tracey!)
~I'm pretty sure it's the most beautiful time of year in the mountains!
~have I mentioned hot chocolate and BAILEY'S yet?
~I love coming out of the cold into my nice warm apartment, and then crawling under the covers of my huge duvet!
~It's so much fun planning and going to those many Christmas parties and dinners and having cookie exchanges!

...but that's just me.
What is your favourite thing about December?

have a great weekend!
~casey

oh boy, i am tired today. i got up at 7am to workout, but i couldn't find the butterfly clips (that is what i call them) to hold the weights onto the bar...so i gave up and watched a taped oprah. it was about men addicted to pornography. ick!

i haven't been up to much lately. i am getting all my marks back, and i have just one more exam on monday and then finals!!! semesters always go by so fast, craziness. ooo i did learn last nite not to hold in your pee. when you have to go, go, as it could in later life lead to urinary incontinence. yes that is rite everybody, i brought this site to an all time low!!!

i saw rent with my mom and my (fake) auntie carlene last friday. i really liked it but if you don't like musicals you will not like the movie. the transitions aren't as smooth like chicago.
actually another toilet related story. i started using my foot to flush the toilets in public bathrooms, because i found out my mom, and karin do it all the time. i figured i am getting all these foot germs on my hand on top of all the rest, that i may as well use my shoe too. well don't wear slide on shoes. i almost lost mine!! it was touch and go for a second....but alas, shoe is safe at home recovering from the near fatality.

that is it for now folks!! talk to you later!